Travel Tales: When life’s a beach and you’re all at sea, its time to be a beach bum

Ah is that the crashing surf I hear?

Sadly no, its just the rain pitter-pattering down on my window pane here in the city. Still, if I close my eyes and pretend I hear the sound of the ocean, I can just about see myself back on the beach, sun hat on my head, slathered in sunscreen, oiled in body oil with just the faintest salt twang in the air as I’m buffeted by the sea winds that make my hair stiff and stand on end Here are some of my beach holiday snapshots – I shared the beauty stuff last week so these are just some random shots I rather liked. Enjoy!

I was away in Terengganu, on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, facing the South China Sea. The sea is blue and relatively clear, the sand is soft between your toes and much to my pleasure, the sun shone everyday that I was there. Would have been quite miserable otherwise

I parked myself for most of the day that I was there, in a gazebo facing the sea. Being a bit Asian about things, I made sure that it was suitably shaded by coconut trees. Yes, I will confess that I’m not a sun worshipper and I was slathered in at least 3 layers of sunscreen, reapplied every 2 hours or so. Needless to say, I failed to come back with a tan – yay!

It was lovely and very windy and I would alternate between snoozing or reading. I brought along with me a random book called Soulless – a book about a soulless spinster, vampires and werewolves. It was funny in parts but mostly I found it a bit of a drag. Still, it made good beach reading because I didn’t have to pay attention, I could zoom through it in between snoozing and didn’t miss a thing. Spent all day out in the gazebo, evenings in the pool (I’m being Asian remember? Evenings are cooler and the sun isn’t as intense ), stuffed myself with loads of food and gave no thought to anything else but whether I should apply more sunscreen.

I did manage to fit in some time to say “Hi!” on Instagram while leaving my mark in the sand, which is a really silly thing to do because the waves promptly washed it all away. Next time, leave your mark in cement, not sand

And here’s what happens when you try to leave your mark in the sand, and not notice the waves coming in. You just end up getting your feet wet!

I also did something I almost never do – wake up early to catch the sun rise over the sea.

The gorgeous light more than made up for it though. The morning sea breeze is very invigorating and there is something very soothing about sitting on a deck chair, listening to the waves, feeling the morning air on your skin and then seeing the sun creep up over the horizon, painting the sky with a million colours.

I highly recommend this activity to anyone on holiday. Its a perfect time for reflection, and to commune with nature before the world wakes up. I went back to sleep after that. I was on holiday after all!

I also had loads of good food. I’m still paying for it with the kgs I must have piled on over just that one weekend!

Top Left: Nasi Goreng Kampung with keropok (fish crackers) and a fried drumstick Top Right: Mangosteens and Rambutans (tropical fruit) Bottom Right: Seafood laksa curry noodles Bottom Left: Self explanatory

Also, you cannot go to the East Coast and not eat Keropok Lekor which is a delicious fish based local snack. Locals will know what I mean and will (hopefully) agree!

There are 2 types – the ones rolled into long tubes and then fried, which I heard referred to as “fish sausages”. It is chewy and very nice eaten with the sweet chilli sauce provided. Another is the thin sliced type which are more crunchy and would be known as “fish crackers”. Don’t ask me to choose between them, I can’t!

And on that gluttony note, ends my short beach holiday. Made you jealous? Erm… sorry. I’ll try not to do it again

Paris B

p/s Life’s a beach? Well, substitute your own 5 letter word starting with B and ending with H

Categories: Food & Lifestyle,Musings,Travel
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